Are ADCOMs going to give me trouble for talking about ancestry bc I don't look it?

[BasedMD]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm 1/4th Native American and I don't look it at all (I'm pasty white), and exploring my Native American ancestry and wanting to work with Native American populations is one of my major goals in medicine. Am I going to be given skeptical looks, and not taken seriously about it? It's very meaningful to me and I strongly identify with my ancestry.

There are a lot of people multiethnic people who look totally different from what one may expect, so I'm hoping it's not an issue. Thoughts?

 

[Pacna]

Generally not going to be an issue, but if you get that sense, acknowledge how they feel and tell them the story you wrote here. Admissions folks are generally some of the most tolerant folks around.

 

[BasedMD]

Generally not going to be an issue, but if you get that sense, acknowledge how they feel and tell them the story you wrote here. Admissions folks are generally some of the most tolerant folks around.

Good info, I'm glad to hear it. My background is really complicated too. There's so much I don't even know, but want to learn.

 

[FumblyBumbly]

If you can point to a substantial experience where you demonstrate that desire to work with Native American populations, I think you can overcome any skepticism. Put your money where your mouth is, right?

 

[LizzyM]

I agree with @FumblyBumbly but I would express it more strongly; you need to point to a substantial experience where you demonstrate that you have worked with that community to "sell" the idea that you want to work with that community. Wishing/desiring isn't enough; show me that you have moved your feet. We would expect the same of someone whose application hinged on wanting to serve rural or inner-city populations as a physician.

This is independent of whether you self-identify as a certain race or if you "look" like your racial self-identify.

 

[familyaerospace]

I look like a different ethnicity than my mixed race one. If I recall, the only question I was asked was why my family spoke a certain language at home and not the one that was more expected.